In the age of growing distances as social media replaces human connections, a group of 44 former college mates banded together on a WhatsApp group to help out a friend on the brink of bankruptcy. On June 29, a Bhopal man's ex-classmates rallied together to collect Rs 11 lakh within 24 hours and helped him repay his bank loan.
Last month, when Krishna (name changed), spoke to his Australia-based friend Ashok Gupta, he shared his distressed state of affairs wherein he had suffered a massive loss in his business and had to sell his factory to repay a Rs 1 crore loan raised from the Punjab National Bank. He had even mortgaged his house and the bank had threatened to attach it if he failed to deposit the remaining Rs 17 lakh by June 30.
Gupta, who studied with Krishna at the SGS Institute of Technology and Science, Indore, in the 1992 batch, thought he could be of some assistance. So, he formed a WhatsApp group by the name of "Help Krishna", with 44 of his ex-classmates added as members and urged them to help out as much as they can.
On receiving the messages, most members — both within India and abroad — responded positively and by contributing between Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 each, they managed to collect a sum of Rs 11 lakh within a day. On June 29, they deposited the collection in Krishna's account, who then managed to settle the loan with the bank under a one-time settlement, all a day before the stipulated deadline.
Incidentally, in an act of added generosity, before asking for contributions, Gupta even requested the group members to not debate the reasons behind Krishna's business collapse and instead just step up and help.
"We used to study together. I used to place my hand on his shoulder since he was shorter. We teased each other and laughed together," said Ashok, recalling his student years with Krishna.
Pankaj Maru, a friend who was part of the WhatsApp group, also got nostalgic and said, "I once cooked a guava curry along with its seeds and was teased for the fiasco. The jolly nature of our friendship continues to this day."
— Zee Media Newsroom
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